By: Russ Kamp, Managing Director, Ryan ALM, Inc.

Welcome to March. It is said that the weather in the Northeast comes in like a lion and exits like a lamb. Is the same true for markets? Given a lot of the crosscurrents in the markets from geopolitical concerns, equity valuations, AI, interest rates, and Fed policy, who knows what is in store for us this month and beyond.

That said, we can with near certainty discuss what transpired during the last week as it relates to ARPA and the PBGC’s implementation of that critical legislation. I say with near certainty only because the weekly updated spreadsheet provided by the PBGC didn’t have a couple of actions from 2/23/24 that were only added in the March 1st update. Specifically, Union de Tronquistas de Puerto Rico Local 901 Pension Plan, a Priority Group 1 member, has once again withdrawn its application. They are seeking >$37 million for the 4,029 participants. In other delayed news, the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Plan, a much larger fund and a Priority Group 6 member, has also withdrawn its revised application. They are in pursuit of an SFA grant that would provide the fund with $1.44 billion in SFA plus interest for more than 49k participants.

Now that we are caught up, this past week (ending 3/1/24) saw some activity, too. Two members from the waiting list entered their applications through the PBGC’s portal, including the Kansas Construction Trades Open End Pension Trust Fund and the Pacific Coast Shipyards Pension Plan. Both plans have submitted revised applications. Kansas Construction is seeking $40.7 million for its 8,145 participants, while the Shipyards plan is striving for $17.8 million for 507 participants, which is 35,108/participant compared to the roughly $5,000/participant for the Kansas plan.

In other ARPA news, there were no applications approved or denied during the previous week. There was one application withdrawn (2/26), but the Pacific Coast Shipyards quickly resubmitted the application by 3/1. In somewhat surprising news, there is a late arrival to the waitlist – # 113! Plasterers Local Union No. 1 Pension Plan joined the list on 2/26/24. They have also locked in the valuation date of November 30, 2023.

Have a great week. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if we can be of any assistance to you as it relates to this legislation.